"Commodore: a Company on the Edge" released! (fwd)

RobertBe · Post by **RobertBe** » Tue Nov 30, 2010 12:12 am

----------------Original message----------------
From: Brian Bagnall
Date: 29-Nov-2010

Hi everyone.

I’m happy to report that my new book, Commodore: a Company on the Edge, is now available from VariantPress.com. This is a heavily reworked edition with about 40% new material. Before starting this project I made a list of everything that I would have liked to include in the first edition. The main areas I wanted to work on were: more interviews to fill in gaps in the story, reorder the material chronologically, and add more period photographs. It was very important to me to put all this material in the right order so readers could read a coherent, chronological retelling of Commodore history. This time you can relive the Commodore experience in real-time.

Originally, the goal was to keep the same page count as the first edition. That turned out to be overly optimistic. After 15 new interviews and a lot of new stories, plus numerous pictures, there was no way to make it all fit. As a result, the story has been split in two. The first book ends in 1984 when Jack Tramiel is forced out of the company and the next book will focus on the Amiga years and Commodore’s eventual demise.

There are many new firsthand interviews:
Brian Dougherty – GEOS developer
John Feagans – PET developer
Andy Finkel – Commodore game developer
Bill Gardei – C65 systems engineer
Neil Harris – Commodore game developer and marketing
Manfred Kapp – Commodore cofounder
Dale Luck – Amiga developer
Bill Mensch – 6502 and 65816 designer
Dick Sanford – Chief Financial Officer of Commodore
Bill Seiler – PET, VIC-20 systems engineer/surfer
Kit Spencer – Commodore’s marketing guru
Yash Terakura – Commodore Japan engineer
Michael Tomczyk – VIC product manager and marketing
Plus additional fact-checking interviews with Chuck Peddle, Bil Herd and Bob Yannes. I did get a chance to talk with Jack Tramiel briefly but didn't get any new material from him unfortunately.

I don't want to ruin too many surprises, but I will mention a few things. First, thanks to John Feagans, an avid photographer, the book is populated with outstanding period photographs. One of the biggest surprises for me was finding out that current Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata started his career programming VIC-20 games for Commodore Japan. The book digs deeper into actor William Shatner’s association with Commodore and reveals some interesting tidbits. There is also a firsthand account of the horrifying PET Jet disaster. Lots of new changes like that.

The book will be available in stores in about a month. If you need it for Christmas, you can get it immediately from my publisher, Variant Press, which distributes signed copies from its website.
http://www.variantpress.com

Kweepa · Post by **Kweepa** » Tue Nov 30, 2010 12:37 am

Bought!

Heh, it's item #6502 in the store.

orion70 · Post by **orion70** » Wed Dec 01, 2010 5:41 am

Me too

.
Can't wait to receive it...

Kweepa wrote:Heh, it's item #6502 in the store.

Pure genius.

Barney · Post by **Barney** » Wed Dec 01, 2010 8:35 am

Finally.....to Hell with all those shmucks charging over $100 bucks for this book on Amazon.

Barney

Bacon · Post by **Bacon** » Thu Dec 02, 2010 4:25 am

Barney wrote:Finally.....to Hell with all those shmucks charging over $100 bucks for this book on Amazon.

Amazing. What's even more amazing is that this must mean there are people willing to pay that much for it

English Invader · Post by **English Invader** » Thu Dec 02, 2010 11:26 am

Bacon wrote:
Barney wrote:Finally.....to Hell with all those shmucks charging over $100 bucks for this book on Amazon.
Amazing. What's even more amazing is that this must mean there are people willing to pay that much for it

At the moment, I'm not even sure if I'm willing to pay £28 inc. shipping for it.

It's a book that appeals to me, but there's still something that's stopping me from clicking on the Pay Now icon.

Centallica · Post by **Centallica** » Thu Dec 02, 2010 2:06 pm

English Invader wrote:At the moment, I'm not even sure if I'm willing to pay £28 inc. shipping for it.

It's a book that appeals to me, but there's still something that's stopping me from clicking on the Pay Now icon.

Maybe if the author took his time the first time around to plan out what he wanted to achieve before jumping into writing the first book, then later putting earlier chapters like on the KIM-1 on his website for readers to download and having a poorly edited version go to print and now have the reader pay another cost in 2 volumes again to make up for the above, one wouldn't be hesitant to buy a copy (I know I am and I loved the first book minus the poor editing)...

Should of have been done right the first time and both the writer (in time and effort) and readers (in costs) wouldn't be paying for it all over again....

Kweepa · Post by **Kweepa** » Thu Dec 02, 2010 6:37 pm

I don't mind paying for it again since I sent my first edition to my brother at his *old* address.

[EDIT] Wow, it's not cheap at abebooks either. Min price $90, for an ex-library copy!

akator · Post by **akator** » Thu Dec 02, 2010 9:57 pm

I agree the original could have been edited and proofed better, but I still enjoyed the book immensely.

I never knew it was selling for so much. I guess I should the first edition off, buy the second, and still have money left over?

orion70 · Post by **orion70** » Fri Dec 03, 2010 8:14 am

I'm eagerly waiting for it, especially for the new sections, interviews, and pictures

.
Just received a mail:

Thank you for ordering "Commodore: a Company on the Edge". Your order
shipped on Wednesday, December 1, 2010 (sorry for the late notification).
Approximate shipping times are as follows:

USA and Canada: 5 to 10 days
International (Ground): 2 to 6 weeks (Australia takes longer)
International (Air): 6 to 10 days

Tell all your friends about the book!

Best wishes,

Variant Press

I chose airmail - it's a Xmas gift for myself...

Kweepa · Post by **Kweepa** » Fri Dec 03, 2010 1:05 pm

I got exactly the same email... hopefully it'll arrive next week!

orion70 · Post by **orion70** » Fri Dec 03, 2010 2:45 pm

Before Christmas is enough

.

Kweepa · Post by **Kweepa** » Tue Dec 14, 2010 7:00 pm

My copy arrived today.
It's a little crushed around the corners but otherwise looks good.
It's 550 pages and it seems to have some new photographs along with the new interviews.
And the first few chapters are still Peddle, Peddle, Peddle!

Barney · Post by **Barney** » Tue Dec 14, 2010 11:04 pm

kweepa, how long did it take from when you ordered your book to when it arrived. I have been waiting now for about 2 weeks and have not received it yet. I also tried emailing Variant Press but didn't get a response. Thanks.

Barney

Kweepa · Post by **Kweepa** » Wed Dec 15, 2010 1:07 am

The ship date was 1 Dec.
I'm in Austin, Texas; it came from Winnipeg.